Dear President Trump, Ok, so here’s the letter I’d already mostly drafted before the Vindman revelations hit yesterday’s news cycle…. There might have been moments during Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony last week when he sounded like he knew what the hell he was talking about. He’s a smart guy, so surely he didn’t sound like … Continue reading Facebook and gas
Environment
A light-shiner, a true beacon
Dear President Trump, We’ve been in it for what feels like nearly an eternity at this point, but I still remember times when it was possible to focus on just one or two big current events at a time or on a small handful of political issues that were at the forefront. Do you remember … Continue reading A light-shiner, a true beacon
Cranes and cranes
Dear President Trump, Just now I was reading Michael Gerhardt’s (WP) editorial laying out the absurdity of your claims that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. His argument boils down to the simple idea that you are insisting you should be treated as an untouchable King who gets to do whatever he wants for as long … Continue reading Cranes and cranes
If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I work from home on Fridays (and actually get tons done those days J). This is relevant because there was a get together for a colleague who’s leaving the VA at a venue near the VA, which meant that I had to … Continue reading If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Shifting the baseline towards love
Dear President Trump, Yesterday when I was mentally formulating my letter to you I kept thinking that the “shrinking baseline syndrome” was the “shifting baseline syndrome” – not that far off, but not quite right, either. When I was in “shifting baseline” mode, though, I found myself toggling between the frightening shifts in ethics and … Continue reading Shifting the baseline towards love
Susurrations and shrinking baselines
Dear President Trump, Susurration is such a wonderful word. If you don’t know what it means, you stable genius you, you might be able to figure it out if you say it aloud because it’s an onomatopoeia. And in case you also don’t know what an onomatopoeia is, it’s a word that was formed from … Continue reading Susurrations and shrinking baselines
The “I wish they weren’t big dreams” list
Dear President Trump, I’ve come up with some more things for the list I started at the end of yesterday’s letter in response to Elizabeth Warren’s “Dream Big / Fight Hard” campaign slogan. I’m calling it my “I wish they weren’t big dreams” list: having a woman POTUS having at least half of all decision … Continue reading The “I wish they weren’t big dreams” list
A toxic stew of anger, sadness, and helplessness
Dear President Trump, Sometimes when I’m contending with the combination of anger, sadness, and helplessness I resort to being snide and I’m afraid that’s what happened in yesterday’s letter. I’m certainly not going to apologize to you, but it’s not a posture or way of being that I’m proud of or want to indulge in … Continue reading A toxic stew of anger, sadness, and helplessness
The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Dear President Trump, This is another one of my absurd “if only” thoughts, but here goes: how about all the world leaders who have either refused to sign the Paris Climate Agreement or who have pulled their countries out of the Agreement spent at least two days in Dorian’s path? I think it’s a terrific … Continue reading The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Sometimes less really is more
Dear President Trump, So here’s another huge topic that I don’t really want to tackle but won’t leave me alone – how the hell do we not consign millions more people to poverty when we finally come around to the reality that we can’t keep generating stuff at a break-neck pace if we are going … Continue reading Sometimes less really is more